Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 120
120 to be the food of the donkey of the Dajj a l. These modes of trans - port have also revolutionized relationships between nations. Economic Conditions The Holy Prophet s as also described the economic conditions that would prevail at the time of the Promised Messiah as and said that gold and silver would become abundant. 55 This also has come to pass. There is so much gold and silver in the world today that we did not have even one-tenth of it in the past. Every town is full of people dealing in gold and silver, and more and more innovative and efficient methods of mining these precious metals have been discovered, resulting in their abundance. England alone now has more gold than was possessed by the whole world in the past. As a result, trade has become very brisk. In past ages, copper pieces or cowries were used as currency, but no one values them today. In England, the smallest coin is a penny, in America a cent, and most of the business in these countries is transacted through gold coins. Another sign of the economic conditions foretold by the Holy Prophet s as was the profusion of usury. The Holy Prophet s as said that one of the signs of the proximity of doomsday would be the increase of usury or interest. 56 This description has also come true. The practice of usury today is a million times greater than in the past. Barring a few exceptions, all trade now runs on usury and cannot survive without it. Banks number in their thousands, governments take and receive interest, traders take and receive interest, industrialists take and receive interest, and rulers take and receive interest. In short, people from all walks of life are